As for the Writer X, he is George Kennan. As for his telegram, he sent it to the US State Department during 1946/1947 in his capacity as the Chargé d'affaires to the US Ambassador to Moscow. It was known at that time as a lengthy telegram and it remained secret for many decades. As for why we revisit this telegram, it is because it determined the US policy of containing the Soviet Union. Given the importance of this telegram and the ideas it held, George Kennan was encouraged to reformulate it for publication in the Journal of Foreign Affairs in the July 1947 issue under the title, Sources of Soviet Conduct by Writer X. After all, he became Director of the Political Planning Staff of the State Department in Washington, and the government did not want to bear the consequences of publication. This method continues to be used today when the USA wants to covertly pass along its ideas and political trends towards any country.
Nonetheless, Arabs have not been very attentive to these subliminal messages. This happened during the 1967 war, the October 1973 war, and the Iraq war, among others. The only exception was when former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat announced that he would not fight the USA when he spotted US armored vehicles cruising their way through Israeli air and sea pathways after it woke up to the war of October 1973. Other than that, the Arabs did not utilize any of these messages. To understand the lengthy telegram, we go back to 1946 when the USA emerged victorious in World War II after leading the Allied camp (USA, Britain and the Soviet Union) against the Axis powers (Germany, Italy and Japan.) Although the USA got involved in the war more than two years late, it emerged from it as the biggest victor at all levels. Today the USA alone stands behind 52 percent of the world's production of goods and services.
On the other hand, this victory would not have been possible had it not been for the 20 million Russians who sacrificed their lives to secure it. This has alleviated the bitter rivalry between capitalism and communism. Churchill summed this up by toning down when he said that Britain would ally with the devil if this was in its interest, which is not atypical for the Western pragmatic mentality. There was also a shift in the US media financed by hardline capitalists, steering away from the peak of hostility to communist Russia before the war to nicknaming Joseph Stalin “Uncle Joe.” They also promoted the humanity of the Russian people and showed their similarities with the Americans.
With the end of the war and the kickoff of the season of spoils in the famous Yalta Conference, the world breathed a sigh of relief thinking that the saving on war expenses would ensure the wellbeing of the peoples. However, convening members in San Francisco in 1945 stood in shock in front of the statement of a member of the US delegation declaring that US military spending should continue without any reduction, for the development of new weapons, even during the years of peace. The question was, where was the new enemy that justifies this? This was probably for economic reasons. However, most likely, it was a declaration of USA as the ruler of the world. Here the answer came from George Kennan, an expert in Soviet affairs, who was known at the time and for the next 40 years as the man behind the policy of containment. As per the said policy, the Soviet pressure against free institutions in the Western world could be contained by a counter-policy based on diplomacy, covert action, and soft power without getting involved in any military actions. George’s 8,000 word telegram carried detailed answers to the containment policy, but the policy became militarized. Hence, it was the end of George Kennan as he retreated to lick his wounds after the “Military-Industrial Complex” hijacked the containment slogan and reduced it to an unprecedented arms race that continues to generate billions until today. It also justifies the emergence of the USA as the largest debtor country in the world after it was the world's largest creditor after World War II.
The dilemma lay in the means of turning yesterday’s friend and war ally to an enemy. The US media and propaganda tools invented the new Marxism according to which any communist sympathizer was excluded from dealing with the American government. Charges were framed in a manner similar to the Spanish Inquisition in a scenario similar to what is happening in the banana republics. However, what is deemed as protection for democracy for the USA is called the suppression of democracy in the third world. Pragmatism hits once again, and there is no consolation for the victims. Politics is heartless, and war is mindless.
When the Soviet Union surrendered to its fate in the 1980s and turned into a regional power instead of an international player, the USA started the search for a new enemy. Political Islam, being foolish enough, came running on its feet. The USA eliminated it in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, it was not a solid justification for the US military- industrial complex. Washington was once again harassing Moscow, and Russia swallowed the bait and invaded Ukraine with a resulting drain of its resources. The wheel of the US military industrialization has been spinning, and once again Russia is borrowing from the USA. Moreover, there is no objection to the displacement of a people and the burning of crops and udders….Do not know what the writer means with this word… For politicians, these are collateral losses, as the world continues to implement Writer X's telegram.
